Perversions
by Azurelight
Summary: First post/Old story. New chapter! I'm not good at writing fight scenes, as I know nothing about fights. But it had to be done. Sorry.
1. Caught In The Act

Chapter One: Caught in the act  
  
Pairing: B/S, R/other  
Rating: R (language and general yuckiness)  
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and a bunch of other corporations own Buffy The Vampire Slayer and related characters, not I. I'm only borrowing them for my own nefarious purposes.   
Spoilers: Early season 5. Mostly concerning the actions of Spike and Riley.  
Notes: I wrote this sometime in December 2000. It's been edited to within an inch of its life and here it is for you. I know this is floating around the net somewhere, but this is Version 2.0 and my first posting here. R&R, but be kind (I'm fragile).   
  
  
Buffy paced the length of her bedroom. Her mother had gone into surgery only an hour ago, and Buffy was extremely anxious to have it all over with. She wished that she could have remained at the hospital, but knew that it was safer for Dawn to be somewhere protected. If anywhere was safe, it was the home of the Slayer. Willow had not only cast multiple de-invites on her house, but she and Tara had cast both general and specific protection spells over the Summer's home since the Quellar demon managed to slink in, unnoticed. Thinking of Dawn, Buffy stopped her pacing and went to check on her pseudo-sister. Dawn was sitting at her desk, with her back to her bedroom door. She was hard at work on whatever assignments she had been missing at school. Buffy smiled and retreated to the comfort of her own bedroom. Dawn was always the smart one; Buffy knew she would catch up in no time.   
The doorbell rang, startling Buffy out of her thoughts. She smiled, hoping it was Riley. He hadn't returned any of her calls, and she really needed to talk to him. Riley hadn't been around much in the past week, or he had. Buffy couldn't really remember. She was too caught up in keeping her family safe and healthy. Buffy exited her bedroom at the exact time Dawn did.  
"You stay here," Buffy told her. "I'll get it. It's probably Riley."  
"Yeah." Dawn said, backing into her room. "You get the door...you guys need to..." Dawn blushed slightly and shut the door. She had heard Buffy's angry tirade at Riley last time he was in the house. Of course, that time he had brought half the army with him, so he was deserving of the Slayer's wrath.  
Buffy smiled, Dawn was finally learning when to keep her nose out of other peoples business. The doorbell rang again. Buffy flew down the stairs, and opened the door with a loving smile upon her face.  
"Riley, I...Spike?!" Buffy loudly exclaimed in shock over seeing the bleached vampire on her front porch.  
"Shhh!" Spike hissed. "Tone it down, Slayer! Do you want the world to know I'm here?"  
"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked flatly, idly thinking of the stake she kept stashed near the door in case someone else slipped up and invited a vampire into her home.  
Spike sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Listen, Buffy.... You're not gonna want to hear this...but...well..."  
"Well, what, Spike?" Buffy crossed her arms and tapped her foot, showing her irritation. Riley could arrive any minute, she needed to talk with him, her mother was in the hospital for Gods sake and Spike knew all of this already. She wanted him to spill whatever he had to say and leave.  
"Well, I...bloody hell!" Spike swore, finding it hard to share his information with the petite blonde standing in front of him. He knew that this would hurt Buffy deeply, but he was also aware that she needed to know. "Listen, there's something going on with Riley...he's...fuck!" Spike cursed again as Buffy punched him hard across the jaw.  
"What have you done with him?" Buffy demanded, grabbing onto the lapels of Spike's leather duster and bringing him down to eye level with her.  
"Nothing!" Spike protested. "I just...heard something about him... from Harm'...."  
"Heard what, Spike?" Buffy hissed, seething with anger.  
"Bloody hell, Slayer...I can't just say it." Spike spat out. "It's...it's... it's just not pleasant, that's what it is. Here, you can see for yourself." Spike broke Buffy's hold on him, knowing that it would not hurt her, and dragged her outside.  
"Spike, where are you...." Buffy's words were cut off as Spike clapped a cold hand over her mouth.  
"You aren't gonna want to see this, luv." Spike whispered, still dragging Buffy down the street. "But I'm afraid you have too. And you won't get to see it if you don't shut up. So, bite your tongue and we can get this over with, agreed?"  
Buffy nodded her head, curious despite herself and followed Spike down a few blocks to the local park. Spike motioned her to complete silence, and they crept though the bushes, nearing the playground. Buffy froze as she saw what Spike had intended to tell her. Riley was sitting in a swing, another woman in his lap. They appeared to be making out heavily. Buffy felt her face grow hot as she was flooded with intense anger and humiliation. Spike clapped his hand over her mouth again and held her close to him. She was too much in shock to struggle.  
"Listen, luv, I know what it looks like." Spike whispered softly in her ear. "But don't go off on him just yet. Watch."  
Buffy whimpered softly, feeling her heart shatter and crumble to dust as she watched Riley let this strange woman kiss him. She suddenly stiffened when her senses told her that Spike wasn't the only Vampire nearby.  
"I'm sorry, pet." Spike whispered softly, knowing that she had figured it out. "But you had to know."  
Buffy stared, in shock, as the woman raised her face from Riley's neck. She was a Vampire, in full game face. Riley's blood, smeared across the Vamp's lips, shone darkly in the moonlight. Slowly, he raised the neck of his turtleneck sweater over the bite-mark. The Vampire woman kissed him on the mouth, hard. Riley licked his blood off the woman's face. She climbed awkwardly from the ex-marine, smiling wide to show off her sharpened yellow teeth. The Vampiress raised a finger to her neck; drawing a sharp nail across the vein that now pulsed with blood. Riley watched, rapt, as blood flowed from the wound in her neck. She grasped his head in her hands, gently encouraging him to feed upon her. Buffy couldn't see what Riley was doing, was he really tasting Vampiric blood? A small beeping sound rose in the still night. Riley broke from his demonic mistress, his face covered in blood. He licked his lips. The Vampiress smiled, and stuck her finger in her mouth, appearing to kiss it. The coppery scent of blood, new and long dead, was heavy in the air. Riley made a motion and the Vampiress stood back. He lifted himself from the swing, pressing a button on his beeping watch.  
"You really do have to go somewhere tonight, don't you?" The Vampiress pouted. Spike tightened his hold on Buffy, although she didn't move a muscle.  
"Yeah, I do." Riley said, taking the woman's finger into his mouth, sucking at the wound she had made there. When he was finished, he turned from the Vampire, and began to walk in the direction of Buffys house. "I'll see you later, though." he called behind his shoulder.  
"I'm sure you will." The Vamp spoke to Riley's back, assuming her human face. She picked a purse up from the ground and drew a hairbrush out of it. The brush raked carelessly through her thick locks, barely missing the ridged planes of her demonic countenance.  
A car door opened and shut, not far away. The sound of an engine starting filled the air briefly, then the car pulled out and drove away. Riley was gone. Buffy stood, tightly held in Spike's embrace, watching the Vampiress brush her hair. She whimpered softly, and struggled briefly to get to the stake that was hidden in her pocket. Spike realized Buffy's need and let her go. In the blink of an eye, Buffy had whipped the stake from her pocket and thrown it, full force, into the heart of the Vampiress. As the woman fell into a pile of ashes, Buffy collapsed on the ground in tears.  
"Shhh, there now, pet." Spike sat on the ground beside her, stroked her hair softly. "Here, now, don't cry..."  
"Home?" Buffy asked in a shaky voice.  
"Yeah, I'll walk you home." Spike still spoke softly, although the true need to was long gone. Gently, he wiped her tears away and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.  
"Better?" He asked.  
Buffy nodded silently. Spike stood, and gave her a hand up. They began to walk back to Buffy's house, taking the fastest route this time. Spike fell in step beside her. A thousand thoughts whirled through both their heads as they walked silently back to Buffy's house.  
  



	2. Walking Thoughts

Chapter Two: Walking Thoughts  
  
Disclaimer: Same thing from Chapter One, excepting the concept of a ghoul. Ghouls belong to White Wolf (tm). I just stole the concept and twisted it slightly to fit the Buffyverse and my plotline.  
  
Riley, how could you do this to me? I told you everything! Everything I went through with Angel... with Parker... You knew all my weaknesses; you loved me!  
Why would you do that? What kind of pervert are you? Is that why you were with me? My powers originated with a demon.... is that what turned you on? It was never me, was it. You only wanted to fuck something super-natural. I guess I just wasn't doing it anymore. I guess I was all too human. I have a   
little sister. I have a mother in the hospital. I have a pulse! What kind of sicko are you?!  
What's wrong with me? Why don't guys ever like me for who I am? Is there no one who can see that I'm not just the fucking 'Chosen One'?? Being the Slayer is a job description, it's not who I am. What I am...what I am...what I am is a slut. Angelus was right. I'll fuck anything that makes puppy-dog eyes at me. I'll fuck anything that mentions the word "love". Slayers aren't supposed to have friends for a reason. We all want love and settle for the closest fucking substitute. Nobody can love me like this. I'm not built for human companionship. I'm going to be alone for my entire short fucking existence.  
I hate you, Riley....  
  
*****  
  
I can't believe I did this. Sure, I always wanted her to break up with Captain Cardboard...but not like this. This is damn close to what Angelus did to her. I can tell she's hurting something awful. Why couldn't he just break up with her? Even better, why couldn't hehave just died? But no, he had to be a bloody perverted ghoul.  
I know that people still fall for the Anne Rice bit. Hell, feeding is a damn turn on for humans. I remember when Dru first bit me...I nearly came in my pants right there. But fuck, no one in their right mind goes courting death like that! Riley is completely fucked up, that's for sure. If he wanted to get turned, this sure as hell isn't the way to go about it!  
Oh, fuck. Did I just think that? Bloody hell! Can't tell the Slayer. She looks hurt, yeah, but not like she knows the truth. It's bad enough she thinks he has a thing for being someone else's after dinner snack. It'll kill her if she knows what he really wants...He wants to be with her completely. He wants to be Angel for her. True love made him a ghoul. She'll die if she knows that. She'll blame herself.  
Then again, she isn't really made for a human lover. She'd snap the poor boy like a twig if she really let go on him. The grand irony of it all. Slayers always crave life, it's something they can't really have. It's a drug to them. They want friends and family and lovers, but they can never let go. They always have to keep themselves in check. And it makes them hurt so deep inside. It makes them crave the death they deliver to others nightly. I'm just gonna have to keep a close eye on her for the next while.   
Can't have her leaving me.  
She's crying again! Bloody hell. I really should not have shown her this. She's gonna be a bloody wreck for weeks. Something good better come out of this. Maybe I should just kill the pillock and have done with it...  
  
*****  
  
Spike.  
Spike.  
Why is he being so nice to me? He hasn't said a cruel word to me since he showed me Riley's little idea of fun. Hell, why did he show me that? Shouldn't he be rubbing it in my face right now? But no... he's been so nice about it...he even tried to just tell me beforehand. I guess this is kinda like when he found Dru with the Chaos Demon. He must really understand what I'm feeling right now. But, he got over it. I mean, if Spike can get over the love of his afterlife and shack up with Harmony then I can get past this. I can get past this. I can.... fuck. I'm not gonna convince myself of anything. I need to talk to someone. I really need to slap Riley into next week.  
Willow? No, too happy with Tara. I couldn't make her relive the whole Oz thing again just to help relieve my pain.  
Giles? No way!  
Xander? No. I'm sure he would want to protect me. But he wouldn't understand what I'm feeling.  
Anya? Gods, no. She's too fresh off the vengeance demon track to help. I'm sure she'd have my best interests at heart...but I can think of multiple ways to kill Riley on my own.  
Mom? Dawn? No and no. Mom needs to rest, to heal. Mom needs to think that everything is perfect in her daughter's lives. Dawn won't understand. Dawn is too innocent...too...too not my sister. I can remember telling her things, crying on her shoulder. But it never really happened. It would be too awkward.  
I'm truly alone in this. There's no one I can talk to. No one who....  
Spike.  
Spike understands. He was there for me when I found out about Mom. He's been here for me all tonight. I just haven't seen it. When I first saw Riley with that bitch, I really thought that Spike was just trying to be cruel. I thought that he found out Riley's dirty little secret and came to rub my nose in it. But that's not what he's been doing at all. He cares. He's being...He's being...a friend.  
  
*****  
They had reached Buffy's house. She noticed Riley's car in the driveway. Spike brought her to the front porch.  
"Well, here you are...." Spike was at a loss for words, he turned as if to go.  
Buffy grabbed his arm.  
"Um...Spike?"  
"Yes, pet?"  
"He's...He's in there. I don't really want to talk to him right now...Do you think...." Buffy swallowed painfully. She fought back tears as she spoke. "Do you think you could come in with me? I need him out of the house and gone... and I could really use some support."  
"Sure thing, luv." Spike gave her his trademark cocky grin. "How's about I run in there, rough 'im up a little and throw 'im out?"  
A hysterical giggle escaped Buffy's mouth as she pictured Spike attempting to rough up her boyfriend, to his regret and pain. "Sure, you do that. Sounds like a good plan."  
"'Course it's a good plan!" Spike said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. Realizing it wasn't working well, he became serious. "Luv, how's about you go in, say what you want and know that I'm right behind you?"  
"Thanks, Spike." Buffy said softly, opening the door. "I owe you."  
Spike shrugged, knowing that if he voiced his preferred method of repayment, he would be clogging a vacuum a split second later. Buffy entered her house and glanced around. Spike was still outside, as Buffy was blocking the entryway.  
"Buffy!" Dawn exclaimed, popping up from the couch in the Family Room. "Riley's here. He got here a little while ago. Who was at the door before? Where did you go?"  
"Dawn," Buffy forced a tired smile. "Don't you have something to do upstairs?"  
"No, why would I...?" Dawn immediately spoke her mind. When realization dawned upon her, it was evident upon her face. "Oh, right. Upstairs. I do have something..." She rushed up the stairs and into her bedroom, leaving the door open so that she could hear everything.  
"Um...Buffy...." Riley said as he stood from a chair in the Family Room.  
The world stopped when Buffy saw Riley standing so casually in her house, not an ounce of discomfort or guilt upon his face. She drank in all his details. Buffy remembered everything that she had loved about him. She just stood and stared as he took a few tentative steps towards her. She noticed so many things about him that she had taken for granted before. How his hair was a little messy, how well his dark green turtleneck shirt fit him. How there was a slightly darker patch on the neck of his turtleneck. Right around the area where a Vampire would bite.  
Everything she had seen earlier came back to her in a rush. She stepped back from the door as Riley took another step towards her. Spike entered on her heels.  
"What...?" Riley exclaimed when he saw Spike. "What is he doing here?"  
"He's being a friend." Buffy answered, her voice and expression suddenly cold as ice.  
"A...friend?" Riley said, confused. He took another step towards her. "Buffy, you can't mean that. He's a demon!"  
Spike took a step back, expecting Buffy to do so as well. She didn't disappoint him. They were now all standing in front of the open door. Spike noticed that Buffy was shaking slightly. He reached out a hand and squeezed her shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring way. She glanced back at Spike, and the ice of her expression melted briefly to show a smile just for him.  
"Buffy, what is going on?" Riley's voice was thick with confusion.  
"You know," Buffy replied turning back to face Riley, her voice and face emotionless again. "I really should be asking you the same thing."  
Riley blinked a few times, now knowing how to reply.  
"But instead I think I'll...." Buffy stepped towards Riley, embracing him tightly. He hugged her back, glaring at Spike over her shoulder.  
Spike leaned against the wall and grinned, knowing what Buffy would do next.   
Buffy snuggled into Riley's arms, her head resting on his shoulder, her face a few millimeters away from the wounds on his neck. She sighed deeply when she realized that all she felt was disgust. She had hoped that there was some feeling left for him. Something that hadn't died the moment she saw him playing his perverted games. Riley had effectively killed all feelings she ever had for him. Buffy lifted her head off his shoulder, smiling up at him. She brought her hand up to caress his neck; Riley smiled and closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. Her caress wandered over the twin puncture wounds in his neck. Riley hissed in pain as Buffy's caress grew hard. His eyes flew open and looked deep into the cold hazel orbs of the Slayer. He couldn't read the emotions that lay there. Out of the corner of his eye, Riley saw Buffy's hands shift, falling down to her side. He opened his mouth to question, to explain, to lie but was frozen by the emotionless void he saw in her expression.  
Crack!  
Riley look up from his new position on the floor, stunned. He blinked in confusion, as he saw Spike step up behind Buffy, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder again. Riley raised a hand to his cheek, feeling it begin to burn in delayed reaction to Buffy's full-armed slap.  
"Buffy, what are you...?" Riley spat out, tasting blood in his mouth.  
"Get out." Buffy spat down at him, hatred burning inside of her.  
"But, Buffy...."  
"No, Riley. Leave. Don't come back. Don't call me. Don't try to see me. If I see you when I patrol, I will treat you as just another Vampire." Riley saw tears form in Buffy's eyes for a brief second before she turned her back to Riley and ran up the stairs and into her bedroom. The sound of a door shutting could be heard from the direction of Dawn's bedroom, followed closely by the hard slamming of Buffy's door.  
"Spike..." Riley growled at the Vampire in front of him as he stood. "What have you done to her?"  
"Me?" Spike exclaimed in mock surprise. "I've done bugger all. You're the ghoul, mate."  
"Ghoul?" Riley asked in confusion. "What are you talking about??"  
A sick grin stole over Spike's face. He had hoped that Buffy had left him alone with Riley for a reason. Her last words to Riley echoed in his mind.   
"I will treat you as another Vampire."   
She had given Spike permission to do what he could to Riley. And Spike could do so much, now that Riley had perverted himself beyond humanity.  
Spike punched Riley in the face and watched with satisfaction as the ex-military man stumbled out of Buffy's house.  
"You're a ghoul." Spike said again, picking Riley up off the front porch and throwing him out onto the lawn. "You've allowed a Vamp to feed from you..." He grabbed Riley by the arm, hauling him to his feet. Riley winced as Spike's hand landed upon another bite wound.  
Spike continued his tirade. "...repeatedly. You've also tasted Vampiric blood. You stupid wanker, don't you know what that does?" Spike accented his question with another punch. He smiled as he felt Riley's nose shatter with the blow. "You're no longer human. You loose a piece of your soul every time you taste our blood. And you've been doing this for weeks."  
Riley's eyes began to glow a faint yellow, not the pure golden-yellow of a Vampire's eyes, but a color that was more reminiscent of puss. Spike smiled to himself and kicked Riley in the ribs, watching him fall to the ground.  
"You now have slight allergies to sunlight, holy water and garlic. It won't kill you, just make you uncomfortable. But that's not the worst of it, mate." Spike stood back, watching Riley attempt to stand and fail. A few of his ribs had been broken. "The Slayer and I can kill you now. You've lost enough of yourself that you're no longer human. But still, there's worse to come." Spike reached into his pocket and took out a cigarette. He kicked Riley again so that he would stay down. Lighting the cig, he continued to talk.  
"You don't have any advanced healing abilities, so this is gonna stay with you for weeks. And to top it all off, mate..." Spike smiled, reveling in the torture he was about to inflict upon Riley. "You're addicted. You need our blood more than you would need Heroin. You need food to sustain yourself, but you have no appetite. You just want to find a willing Vamp and suck alittle of the red outta them. You want to be turned so that you can hunt for yourself, so you can feel the demon running through your veins for an   
Eternity instead of for a moment, so you can rid yourself of the regret, which has taken to plaguing your bloodless days, but you're so pathetic no Vampire would ever do it. Like a leper; you disgust us. And so, you'll move from city to city, performing the grossest and most menial of tasks for the local Bloodsuckers,   
so that they might give you a little taste of heaven. You can't fool anyone, we all know. We can feel the ghoul inside of you. A demented little demon, pathetic and week. There's no 12 step program for this, either....You're royally fucked, mate!" Spike finished his cig and dropped the smoking butt on Riley's face, grinding it out with his heal. He laughed as Riley coughed and squirmed, but couldn't otherwise move. Spike dropped into a crouch and whispered his final words in Riley's ear.   
He was almost certain that Buffy had been watching from an open window upstairs; he didn't want her to hear this last part.  
"I'm gonna go inside now, and comfort Buffy. You really hurt her, you know. She thought she loved you." Spike grinned as Riley coughed up blood. "Yeah, I know. You loved her too. True and deep. You did this for her, to be a part of her world more than you could ever be by playing at Captain America. But you fucked up big time, mate. She's mine now, and you will never have her."  
"No...." Riley gasped out. "Mine...Buffy...love..."  
Spike shrugged and relaxed his control, allowing his demon to surface. "Is she now?" He bit into his wrist, knowing that Buffy could not see him, and held the dripping wound close to Riley's face. "Is   
she really yours?" Spike made as if to offer his blood to Riley, but drew back as Riley stretched out to receive the offered drink. "Is she?"  
"No...." Riley gasped, wanting the healing that Spike's blood would give him. Wanting to feel the demon running through his veins. Wanting the power, the rush, the feelings of enhancement. Wanting to taste the blood more than anything he had ever wanted before. He began to shake. "Please...no...She's yours...I loved her once...not anymore!....Please....She's yours...."  
"Bloody right, mate. Mine." Spike muttered, allowing a few drops of his blood to fall into Riley's mouth. "Feeling better?" He shuddered in disgust at the look of pure ecstasy that crossed Riley's face. "Good. Now, I'm gonna be in there," He gestured behind him to Buffy's house "until just before sun up. When I get out, you won't be here. I don't care where you go. Crawl into the sewer. I don't give a damn. The point is that you will be gone." The wound on his wrist was closing fast, but Spike squeezed out a few more drops into Riley's mouth at the last moment.  
"Gone...I'll go..." Riley panted, reaching out for the reward of more blood. He hissed in pain when he realized there was no more coming.  
"Good lad." Spike stood, his wrist fully healed and demon within freshly reigned in. Turning heal, he strode back into the Summer's home, locking the door behind him. He immediately went upstairs, heading towards Buffy's room, knowing she would want to be somewhere she felt safe. Somewhere she could cry.  
  



	3. Cold Comfort

Chapter Three: Cold Comfort  
  
Disclaimer: I stole music, but only out of deep respect. Something In The Air by David Bowie is most assuredly NOT MINE!!  
  
Spike halted outside Buffy's bedroom door, not knowing whether to go in or not. He leaned against the wall, hearing soft music float from her room. He would be there if she needed him. The music flowed around him, soft and full of pain.  
  
Your coat and hat are gone  
I really can't look at your little empty shelf.  
A ragged teddy bear  
It feels like we never had a chance.  
Don't look me in the eye!  
  
The singers voice was ragged, as though he'd been crying. Spike shook his head, wondering where the Slayer had found such a song in the first place. She'd seemed so happy with Riley. What would prompt her to listen to such a sad song in the first place? He stared at her door, willing it to open, willing   
himself to go in. Neither happened.  
"Fuck this," He muttered, intending on leaving. Spike wondered why he had come in the first place. He wasn't the type to get off on this kind of pain; he preferred physical pain to emotional.  
"Yes, I have a thing for her," Spike thought "so why did I have to go hurt her like this? Maybe it would've been better if I just let Harm' keep spreading her rumors. Not many vamps can stand a ghoul much less create one. Riley and that bitch he was feeding off would've been dead in short order. But then, she would have loved him in death. If he dies, she needs to know that he died a monster and not a victim. It would weigh on her too much, otherwise. She always blames herself."  
Spike stared at Buffy's bedroom door, listening to the muted sounds of her sobs. He tried again to enter, but found her could not force himself to open the door.  
"Bloody hell!" He cursed in his mind. "I did her a favor, but she's never gonna see it that way. I did my part. Time to go home."  
  
We lay in each other's arms  
But the room is just an empty space  
I guess we lived it out  
Something in the air  
We smile too fast and we can't think of a thing to say.  
  
Spike had only taken a few steps down the hallway when the sound of Buffy's door opening stopped him in his tracks. He didn't turn around.  
"Spike?" She whispered, her voice cracked and raw.  
He felt her small hand rest tentatively on his shoulder and turned around. His breath caught at her tragic beauty. She looked so pale, so small and fragile. Spike wondered if this was how she had looked when Angel left her. His demon awoke at her pain and encouraged Spike to make it grow. He ignored   
it.  
"Yeah, pet?" Spike's response was soft and comforting. He reached out and wiped a tear from Buffy's cheek.  
She smiled shyly. "Come in?" She asked, stepping back into her bedroom. "I...I don't really want to be alone." She confessed as he followed her in.  
Spike let his eyes roam around her room, taking in it's cleanliness, it's girlish overtones. He noticed a well-used stuffed pig sitting on her dresser. Buffy picked it up and sat on her bed, hugging the pig close to her. Spike glanced around for a chair, noticing an empty CD-case sitting near her stereo. Giving up on the chair, he shrugged out of his duster and took a seat across from her on the bed. The music continued to pour out of the stereo, adding a heart-wrenching sadness to the cheery atmosphere of   
Buffy's room.  
  
Lived with the best times  
Left with the worst  
I've danced with you too long  
Nothing left to say....  
Let's take what we can  
I know you'll hold your head up high  
We've raged for the last time,  
A place of no return....  
And there's something in the air;  
Something in my eye  
I've danced with you too long.  
  
The silence between them stretched tight. Spike shifted, trying to think of something to talk about. Something that would make her laugh or at least smile.  
"So...." He began, glancing up at Buffy's faraway expression as she gripped her stuffed pig. Spike didn't get to finish his thought, as Buffy suddenly looked at the floor her hair covering her face as she sobbed, clutching her stuffed pig tightly to her chest. "Pet, don't cry...don't..." Spike murmured, moving closer to Buffy that he might put his arm around her as he had done a few nights earlier when she had been crying for her mother. After a few moments, her sobs abated and she calmed down.  
"Spike, I..." Buffy began, thinking of a way to apologize, a way to explain.  
"Don't, luv. It's ok." Spike cut her off.  
"Is it all true?" Buffy raised her head and looked Spike in the eye as she asked her question. Her eyes were rimed in red and unshed tears made her vision watery, but her eyes never wavered, the resolve in them demanding the truth.  
Spike sighed deeply, wishing the truth wasn't true. "Yes, luv, it is. I'm sorry."  
"Oh, god." Buffy choked out, thinking of the time she had tasted Dracula's blood more than Riley's predicament.  
"What?" Spike asked, knowing there was more here than her sorrow over   
Riley.  
"I...I...." Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath and forced herself to tell Spike what had transpired between her and Dracula while she was under his thrall. "I tasted Dracula's blood."  
Spike blinked, shocked and not knowing what to say.  
Buffy didn't notice, she continued to pour out her story words tumbling over themselves in her haste. "He had me...under his spell. I tried not too, but I couldn't help myself. He wanted me to feel my power, to know myself as a Slayer. He spoke about this darkness inside of me, one similar to his. When I   
tasted his blood, I felt myself...as a Slayer. His spell was broken and we fought." Buffy began to shake from the horror of her thoughts. "Does this...does this make me....?" She couldn't finish her question and instead tightly squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, waiting for Spike to answer.  
Spike thought for a moment, considering how Buffy had behaved since she had tasted the blood of Dracula before answering. "No, luv. You're not a ghoul, you're not like him at all."  
Relieve shot through Buffy. Her eyes flew open, she smiled brightly and suddenly she was in Spike's arms, hugging him tightly. Shock etched itself upon Spike's face again that night. He hugged her back briefly before she pulled away, a small frown creasing her features.  
"Why?" she asked, wondering if Spike was lying.  
"Well....'cause." He answered, receiving a hard punch in the arm. "Ow! Fuck, Slayer give me a minute, ok?"  
"A minute for what? Were you lying to me?" Tears fell unheeded down Buffy's face as she glared at her allied enemy.  
"No!" Spike hurriedly replied. "You just gotta give me a sec to figure out why. I don't really know."  
"Oh." Buffy grabbed the remote to her stereo and turned off the music while waiting for Spike to figure out what prevented her from losing her humanity and becoming a ghoul.  
"Maybe it's cause you're the Slayer?" Spike mused aloud. " Immune to Vampiric blood or something like that. Or maybe its cause it was such a little bit and you haven't had any more? Riley's been at this for weeks, you know."  
"Weeks?" Buffy gasped, shocked.  
"Um..." Spike nervously ran is hand through his hair. He hadn't meant to let Buffy in on that fact. "Yeah. Sorry. I only just found out tonight."  
"But he's inhuman now and I'm ok." Buffy said.  
"Oh, yeah. You're fine. No worries." Spike assured Buffy, not wanting her to cry again.  
Buffy sighed deeply, feeling an endless black hole where her heart used to be.  
"But why, Spike?" She asked, needing to know what would drive Riley away from her and into the embrace of a Vampire. "What would make him want this?"  
"Different reasons." Spike avoided making eye contact with Buffy as he spoke, unwilling to tell her the truth. "It was probably the Initiative that did it. Who knows what kind of weird experiments they did on him?" He smiled wryly "Maybe they even started feeding him the blood, to see what it would do to him. I know they took enough of it out of me for 'tests' when I was in there. They probably fed it all to him."  
"You're lying, Spike." Buffy spoke flatly, deeply injured that Spike would lie to her about this. She had begun to trust him, begun to allow herself to trust and depend upon this vampire. "You know something. Something more than 'it's the Initiative's fault'."  
Spike looked her in the eye and opened his mouth as though to answer her. Suddenly, he stood up, grabbing his jacket. Buffy looked up at him in pain and confusion.  
"Listen, Slayer..." Spike began, putting his duster on to avoid eye contact with the shattered girl sitting so close to him, "I came here to let you know about Captain America's little perversion. I did you a favor. That doesn't mean I have to play twenty-questions." He couldn't tell her the truth. Anything but the truth. Knowing Riley did it for her, to become a part of her world more than his suddenly joe-normal status could afford would kill her. And keeping the truth from her, although hurting her less in the long run -but she didn't know that- was killing Spike. "Figure out the how's and why's on your own. I don't know what makes people do what they do. I'm a Vampire, not a bloody psychiatrist." He stared down at her pained expression for a moment, an unreadable emotion in his eyes. Spike blinked and shook his head slightly, as though banishing a thought. He swiftly turned around and strode out of her room, shutting the door behind him.  
The sound of a heart-wrenching sob made him pause outside her door. He leaned against the wall, where a short time ago he had waited to be let in, listening to Buffy cry. Suddenly, her sobs were accented with the sounds of glass breaking. He started when the coppery scent of blood reached his nostrils.  
"They never tell the truth." He heard her cry out before the sound of something delicate breaking. The heady scent of Buffy's powerful blood came stronger. Spike swallowed heavily.  
"And they always leave." Something else was smashed.  
"That's the only truth you need." He felt rather than heard her slide to the floor in defeat, and sobs again tore at her frail body. "Damn you, Spike!" She cried out to the sound of shattering glass. The scent of her blood in the air was strong. He knew she wasn't really injured, he prayed she wasn't really injured. Spike couldn't make himself walk back in to check on her, to apologize, as he knew he should. He was hungry, and the scent of the ambrosia that was Slayer's blood made him slip into game-face without   
even realizing it. He was about to leave, to run downstairs and a pack of the emergency blood Buffy kept in the fridge, when his sharp hearing caught her mutter an addition to the litany she had begun to recite earlier. "They never tell the truth.... and they'll always leave.... but not before you love them."  



	4. Aftermath

Chapter Four: Aftermath  
  
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. Joss Whedon owns Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The lyrics I (respectfully) stole belong to Korn and the Smashing Pumpkins. Although I dearly wish otherwise, only the plot belongs to me.   
Notes: This is where the story descends into the chaos of a B/S story. I suppose it can be taken as a full story with only three chapters... but I got a positive revue today and so will share the rest of the tale out of desire for more.   
  
"They never tell the truth...and they'll always leave...but not before you love them."  
  
Shocked to his core, Spike turned and ran out of the house, barely remembering to steal a packet of blood from the fridge on the way out. His senses registered the fact that Riley was gone, although his mind nearly missed it. It had only been twenty minutes since he had left the ex-marine to comfort Buffy. Gulping down the blood, he circled the house. Tension evident in his every move, Spike began to pace outside of Buffy's bedroom window. With shaking hands, he lit a cigarette, taking in long drags whilst he frantically paced.  
"I can't go back in there." He muttered feverishly as he walked. "She'll stake me for sure. But she said.... she said....no! She wasn't talking about me. She was talking about Riley, she was talking about the great Poof....she wasn't talking about me!" Confusion wracked him as he continued to pace. Soon, Spike's cigarette was nothing but a smoldering filter. He threw it to the ground and drew out another one, thankful that he had just stolen a carton and wouldn't need more for some time. He glanced up at Buffy's window when he heard loud music crash from above. Her window was open.  
  
Ugh!  
Why can't I decide, why my feelings I hide  
Always screwing with my mind, a thorn in my spine  
Oh Sure, it feels fine, wasting all our time  
In the back of my mind, a thorn in my spine  
  
"Good choice, luv." Spike muttered, recognizing the song, as he hoisted himself into the tree that served as the Slayer's main path to and from her house. He made himself comfortable on a thick branch, looking in on the activities in Buffy's bedroom. He watched her half dance along to the heavy music as she cleaned up the mess she had created, occasionally wiping at her eyes with bloodied hands when the tears fell again. Surprised, Spike noticed that her mirror had been punched repeatedly and there were multiple bloody-smears across the shattered glass. Buffy was picking up tiny shards of glass from her floor. Many fragile gifts had become victim to her sorrow-filled rage. Spike wondered why she would break things her friends gave her while he watched her sweep up the tiny shards and deposit them unceremoniously into the trashcan.  
"Gifts from Riley." He realized aloud, thinking that only Fish-boy would gift the Slayer with useless trinkets of glass. Buffy's head snapped up and she looked out the window, red-rimmed eyes narrowed suspiciously. Spike froze, hoping the shadows covering him would be sufficient to hide him from   
the Slayers gaze. Luckily, a breeze took that moment to descend upon the tree, making the branches sway and the leaves rustle. Buffy was placated by this and continued to clean up, her hands still scratched and cut, despite her swift healing ability.  
  
Wait!  
See it before my eyes  
Why!  
Do I run away  
  
Looking all the time, at your face so blind  
Feeling uptight, always the same fight  
Hey man, now decide, go ahead take your time  
Kissing all the time, that thorn in my spine.  
  
"Is there a message here, luv?" Spike thought to himself, his confusion growing. "She wasn't talking about me!"  
"No, she was talking about all the men in her life. But you were included." A little voice spoke in the back of Spike's mind.  
"Shit. When did I grow a conscious?" Spike muttered, knowing that he had to speak with Buffy. She really did deserve to know the truth. It would hurt her, but she had to know. He stole himself for what would no doubt be his intimate introduction with Mr. Pointy and crept forward on the branch towards Buffy's window.  
  
****  
  
"Listen, Slayer..."  
Why are you getting up? Why won't you look me in the eye?  
"I came here to let you know about Captain America's little perversion. I did you a favor. That doesn't mean I have to play twenty-questions."  
Twenty-questions? I need to know! You started this. You showed me the truth. Now tell me the rest of it!  
"Figure out the how's and why's on your own."  
On my own? You're...leaving? No, I won't cry. Go the hell away, then!  
God, this hurts.  
" I don't know what makes people do what they do. I'm a Vampire, not a   
bloody psychiatrist."  
You're not just a Vampire, Spike. You're more...so much more.  
Slam!  
Gone. He left. Walked out and shut the door behind him. Turned away from me and shut me out. Pain. This hurts so much. Why do they always leave me? Dad... Angel.... Parker.... Riley... Spike. Nobody cares enough to stay.  
Why do I still have a reflection? There's obviously something missing from me. I'm not a whole person. I shouldn't reflect.  
Smash.  
Now I'm many, tiny people. Seven years bad luck. Oh well. How can it get worse?  
"They never tell the truth!"  
Smash.  
Riley gave me that for our anniversary. So cheap and meaningless. A little angel. Ha. I gave him a Barbie-doll. Dressed like me, complete with cross and stakes and a G.I. Joe to keep her company. It took me a week to make those stakes. But Riley's gone now. Just like the others.  
Smash. I look fractured. I feel fractured. It fits.  
"And they'll always leave!"  
Leave. Leave. Spike left me. I opened up to him. He was kind and gentle. I didn't want him to leave. But I'm Buffy, and so he had to go. They all have to go. It's probably in the Slayers handbook.  
Smash.  
Happy birthday sweet sixteen. Dad's gift arrived promptly on my birthday. Well, right day, wrong month. Mom called him to remind him. I heard her do it. He forgot, again.  
Oh. I'm bleeding.  
Blood.  
Spike.  
"Damn you Spike!"  
I can't take this anymore.  
"They never tell the truth."  
I hurt so deep inside. How can he hurt me so?  
"And they'll always leave."  
Maybe he was right. Maybe I do crave death. I'll crave anything that will stop the pain.  
"But not before you love them."  
  
How long have I been crying? God, look at this place. What a mess. At least Dawn didn't wake up. I'd hate to have to explain this. Have to clean up. But first...ah, music. Mirror to my soul, echo of my thoughts. Good thing I got Faith's CD's when she went comatose. I never would've found this otherwise.  
  
Wait!  
You cannot even see your side  
Why?  
Play yourself out that way  
Why?  
You and me always hate  
Wait!  
Weren't you my friend?  
  
What was that sound? Oh, a breeze. Nothing.  
Ah, clean. And less memories of Riley. I got a two-for one. Feel better. Ow. Hurt. Oh, my hands. Still bleeding, but no...oh, damn. Glass splinters. This is gonna take some work.  
"I can't believe I was...." the tweezers descend. "so stupid!" small tug. Damn, this hurts. "I trusted him." bigger tug. "Ouch!" got one. Small piece of mirror. A small piece of me reflects back. I glance up at the shattered mirror, empathizing. "Idiot." tug. "Human," tug "or Vampire...men are men."   
yank. "Shit!"  
That hurt. But I'm clean now and so is my room. Everything is perfect. Oh, new song. I guess this is a mix CD. Never heard this one before....  
  
It's you that I adore,  
You'll always be my whore.  
You'll be a mother to my child  
And a child to my heart.  
  
We must never be apart.  
We must never be apart.  
  
*****  
  
Spike paused when the sound of Buffy's mutters reached his ear. Her back was to him as she cleaned her wounds, but her voice carried over the music. His eyes grew wide in amazement as he realized that she was talking about him. Spike grew sad, knowing that he had hurt her more deeply than he imagined. She had trusted him, and he let her down. A new song came on her stereo as he continued to contemplate courses of action to express his forgiveness to Buffy and survive. Spike grinned, sensing the irony. He had listened to the same song many times, it had always made him think about Buffy and his feelings for her.  
  
Lovely girl, you're the beauty in my world.  
Without you there are no reasons left to find.  
  
And I'll pull your crooked teeth.  
You'll be perfect just like me.  
You'll be a lover in my bed,  
and a God to my head.  
  
We must never be apart.  
We must never be apart.  
  
"Hell with it." Spike muttered when he noticed Buffy was listening to the song, not moving. Using every ounce of his stealth, he slipped down the tree branch and through the open window into Buffy's bedroom.  
  
Lovely girl, you're the murder in my world  
Dressing coffins for the souls I've left to die.  
Drinking mercury, to the mystery,  
Of all that you should ever leave behind,  
In time.  
  
He smiled, watching her sway to the music as she listened to it. Spike took a tentative step towards her and froze when she stood and began to dance. Her eyes were closed. Smiling to himself, Spike crept towards her. She turned her back to him again and he took the opportunity to embrace her swiftly, pinning her arms to her side. Her body tensed and her eyes flew open.  
"I'm sorry, luv." Spike whispered, his voice rough with emotion, into Buffy's ear. Her body remained tense, hurting him although he didn't quite know why.  
"Sorry?" Buffy asked, her voice dripping with loathing.  
"Yes, dammit!" Spike spat out, and let Buffy go, injured that she did not believe him. "I'm sorry!"  
She stepped out of his embrace swiftly and turned. Once again, he was struck by her beauty. Her gaze was cold, almost devoid of emotion, an extreme contrast to the heat he felt radiating from her. Spike was struck suddenly with the thought that he had never seen the Slayer truly possessed by hatred before. He felt himself grow hard and nearly groaned, knowing that this would be the worst time for her to notice.  
"Sorry." Buffy repeated, as though hearing the word for the first time and wondering what it meant.  
"Bloody hell, Slayer," Spike cursed, amazed that she could be so bitter. "I'm sorry! I walked out on you and I shouldn't have. I didn't answer your questions and I bloody well should've done that!"  
Buffy tilted her head, her face the picture of innocence as she considered his words. Inside, she was raging with self-hatred.  
"Something made him come back." She thought. "He wants something from me."  
Spike ran his fingers through his hair and sighed in frustration. He began to pace and wished he could have another cigarette.  
"Listen, Slayer, I'm really sorry...alright?" Spike asked, as he stalked back and forth looking like a caged panther. "I...I just didn't want to hurt you, ok?" He offered in explanation.  
"Hurt me?" Buffy questioned, wondering what he could want from her, wondering what he would take from her this time. She had so little left to give.  
"Yes, hurt you! Fucking hell, you're starting to sound like Dru. Have you lost it!?" Frustration grabbed hold of Spike and forced the words from his mouth.  
"Yes." Buffy smiled sadly, ignoring the insult. "I've lost it. I've lost so many things. And some things I never even had." A tear fell from her eye, unnoticed.  
Spike stopped pacing, his jaw falling open in amazement. He had compared her to Dru and she didn't react. He was still frozen in shock and didn't move as Buffy slid bonelessly to the ground, tears falling silently from her eyes.  
"Go 'way, Spike." She whispered. "I don't have the strength to give you whatever it is that you want. You can hurt me later, ok? Just go 'way."  
"No." Spike answered succinctly, sitting down beside Buffy and drawing her into his lap, gently stroking her hair. "I'm not going anywhere."  
"Oh, you are." She sighed wearily. "You just don't know you're leaving yet."  
Spike smiled wryly, she didn't know him very well. He never left, not without a fight. "No, Buffy." He replied. "You just don't know that I'm staying."  
She didn't answer him. He glanced down to find her sleeping peacefully, cradled in his embrace.  
  
In you I seem dirty.  
In you I count the stars.  
In you I feel so pretty.  
In you I take scars.  
In you I feel so hungry.  
In you I crash cars.  
We must never be apart!  
  
Sighing in temporary contentment, Spike rested his head on Buffy's and closed his eyes. "But you'll know soon enough." He whispered, smiling.  
  



	5. Home is where the...

Chapter Five: Home is where the...  
  
Disclaimer: doesn't belong to me, etc etc.   
Notes: thank you everyone for such nice revues. it's almost enough to make a girl write something new instead of editing her old work. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.   
  
Consciousness arrived with the nicest sensation, forcing Buffy to wonder if she was still dreaming. She felt a cool hand stroke her side and back, again and again. A desire to purr and show her appreciation for the attention made her smile at her own silliness.  
"I know you're awake." A soft, teasing voice whispered in her ear.  
"No I'm not." Buffy muttered, desiring to return to whatever dream had made her feel so pleasant.  
"You are." The voice said gently.  
Buffy stretched languidly, noticing through half-open eyes that it was still dark outside and that she was lying in her bed.  
"How did I...?" She asked herself, not remembering much past Spike's re-entry into her bedroom.  
"You fell asleep, Slayer." The voice answered her question. "Did you know you snore?"  
"Do not!" Buffy replied, without thinking. Realization dawned shortly thereafter. "Spike!" She cried out in shock and launched out of bed quickly after realizing that she had spent the past few hours asleep, curled up against Spike. She quickly looked herself over, relieved to see that she was still dressed.  
"Yes?" He asked, chuckling at her actions.  
"What are you doing here? What happened?" Buffy asked, trying desperately to remember the details of a night spent in emotional agony.  
"Well," Spike began, smiling. Buffy was relieved to note that the only clothing Spike wasn't wearing was his leather duster. "I showed up unannounced and dragged you off to see Soldier Boy's idea of nighttime fun. Then I got to watch you dump him and have myself a little fun with the ghoul. Right after that I was horrifically cruel to you, then I left, then I came back to apologize, then you told me to go away and I didn't. Oh, then you fell asleep so I put you in bed and had myself a nap."  
Memories flooded back to Buffy at Spike's rendition of the past night's events. She was surprised that he had stayed and said so.  
"Why didn't you leave when I fell asleep?"  
"Cause," Spike's grin slipped a little; he was still deeply hurt from Buffy's reactions to him the night before. He had apologized and meant it, but she refused to believe him. "I said that I wouldn't."  
"Are you going to leave now?"  
Spike's grin died. "Um...that's why I woke you up, Slayer." he answered.  
Buffy sat down on the bed, looking at Spike with pain in her eyes.  
"Because you're leaving? You didn't have too. I'm used to waking up alone." Her voice was devoid of emotion, and she wished the rest of her could be so empty.  
"Slayer, look at the time." Spike said, frustration tingeing his words. "The sun's almost up. I'm not leaving cause I want too."  
"Oh."  
Spike stood up and picked up his jacket from the floor. "Do you remember last night?" He asked, too casually.  
"Yes." Buffy sighed.  
"All of it?"  
"Spike, what are you getting at?"  
"What's the last thing you remember saying to me?"  
Buffy frowned, thinking. "It was... it was that you would leave me. You just didn't seem to know it yet." Tears formed in her eyes. It always hurt when they left. She tried to be strong; she tried to dull the pain, but it always hurt. Even if she was supposed to hate this one.  
"And do you remember my reply?"  
Buffy grinned, small and guilty. "Nope."  
Spike returned her grin, "I said that I'm not leaving, and you just don't seem to know it yet."  
"I...I...." Buffy stuttered, shocked and not knowing how to reply. Spike could promise, but he didn't mean it. Spike could try to stay, but it wouldn't happen. But he was the first to understand her, to understand her pain. Perhaps he would try. Against Buffy's wishes, hope blossomed in her heart.  
Spike hushed her stuttering with a chaste kiss. "I will see you when the sun goes down." He promised, breaking away from the kiss. Once again his body was reacting to her and he knew that this was way to soon to be entertaining such thoughts. Especially from one little kiss.  
"Doubt it." Buffy replied, looking away. She couldn't let Spike see how his small kiss had affected her so. He had only meant it in friendship, hadn't he?  
Spike laughed softly. "Of course you do, luv. But I always did enjoy proving you wrong."  
"Goodnight, Spike." Buffy replied, a finality in her voice settling the issue.  
"I'll see you later, Buffy." Spike responded, knowing that she wouldn't believe him. He winked at her, just to see her smile then climbed out the window and headed towards his crypt.  
  
*****  
  
"Honey, I'm home." Spike announced, entering his crypt just as the sun heaved itself above the horizon. He looked around, not seeing Harmony.  
"Maybe she's dust." Spike thought happily before flopping down in his chair and flicking on the television.  
Moments later, Harmony appeared from deep inside the crypt wearing a tight, leather cat-suit. Spike nearly threw up when he saw her, but managed to keep a straight face.  
"What's the occasion, pet?" He asked, referring to her horrid state of dress.  
"Spike-y!" Harmony gushed, grabbing Spike by the hand and drawing him out of his chair. "You'll never guess what I found!"  
"A brain cell?" He muttered.  
"What?" Harmony blinked a few times, then shrugged. "Anyway, I found the funnest thing! You have to come see."  
Spike winced when Harmony said "funnest" then entertained himself with thoughts on her tortured demise as he followed her deeper into the crypt.  
"See?" Harmony squealed as she led Spike around a corner.  
"Bloody fucking hell!" Spike exclaimed upon seeing Harmony's surprise. Chained to the wall in the back of the crypt was an unconscious Riley Finn. His earlier injuries had been completely healed from what appeared to be infusions of Harmony's blood. He sported multiple lashes across his chest and back, the cause of which seemed to be a long whip, coiled upon the floor out of his reach.  
"I found him in the sewers," Harmony babbled. "He was almost dead and was muttering things about loving Buffy and needing blood. I dragged him back here and tried out that thing that Sandy said. You know Sandy, she told me about how Riley liked to offer himself out as dinner? Anyway..."  
Spike tuned out the nerve-grating sound of Harmony speaking to analyze the situation before him. He casually picked up the coiled whip, while Harmony blathered on, describing how 'cool' it felt to feed Riley. He thought about what he had been taught by Angelus. Ghouls were an abomination in Vampire culture. You either made a fledgling to do your dirty work or entranced a mortal. A ghoul could be fun, for a night, easily made and entertaining to destroy; no one ever made a ghoul with intentions of allowing it to survive. They were destroyed, put out of their misery like a lame horse. It was done more for the crippled demon living inside the ghoul than the human who housed it, but it was done nonetheless.  
"Harm'," Spike cut Harmony off, mid-babble.  
"Yes, Spike-y?" She simpered.  
"What did I tell you, about ghouls?" Spike asked, slowly uncoiling the whip.  
"Um...." Harmony's face flushed with the effort of thinking. Spike nearly lashed out at her there, but restrained himself. "Oh! That they're something bad. If you make one and keep it, others will kill you and the ghoul will be hunted and killed as well." She smiled, proud at herself for remembering.  
"Very good." Spike grabbed Harmony and twisted her around to stare at Riley's limp form. "Now, here's a ghoul." He pointed out for Harmony's benefit. "What should be done with him?"  
"He should be killed." Harmony sighed in frustration. "But, he has uses, Spike! He can get the Slayer for us - Ouch!" She cried out when the grip Spike had upon her arm grew painfully tight.  
"Where's the one who made him, Harm'?" Spike asked, appearing to be oblivious to Harmony's pain.  
"I don't know." Harmony pouted.  
"She's dead." Spike told her condescendingly, letting go of Harmony's arm and positioning himself behind her, wrapping his arms around her in a parody of a lovers embrace. "But there's another. One who harbored the ghoul when he should have been put down. One who treated his wounds and intended to keep him. Intended to use him. That one should be killed as well. It's law."  
"Who?" Harmony asked, thinking how nice it was that Spike was putting his arms around her. He hadn't paid attention to her like that in a while. "Who do we get to kill?"  
"Not we, pet." Spike drew the whip in his hands across Harmony's throat and pulled tight. She slipped into game-face and thrashed weekly as Spike tightened the stranglehold. He smiled and slipped into game-face as with a final pull the sound of Harmony's neck snapping echoed sharply around the room. Spike could swear he heard his stomach rumble as he let Harmony's limp body fall to the ground. He dropped to the ground beside his former lover and tore into her neck, drinking deep. Soon, she was a dry husk, although still living. A stake appeared in Spike's hand as Harmony's eyes fluttered open. He toyed with it, where she could see. Harmony's eyes darted back and forth, frantic.  
"Goodbye, Harm'." Spike spoke, his voice dripping with contrived sorrow. "We had some good times; I'll miss you."  
The whip fell to the ground, coiled once more, around a small pile of dust on the crypt floor. Riley groaned softly, waking up. Spike slammed his fist into Riley's jaw, knocking him out again and walked out into the main room to watch television and contemplate what in the world he was going to do with a Ghoul his Slayer still had feelings for.  



	6. Of Ghouls and Diaries

Chapter Six: Of Ghouls and Diaries  
  
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except my shame. Buffy and CO. belong to Joss Whedon and Moist owns the lyrics I blatantly borrowed.  
  
  
The sun had been down for a brief ten minutes; its orange glow still lit the sky to the west. Spike stood a few doors away from the Summers home, smoking a cigarette and wondering who the red car in the driveway belonged too.  
"Should I...?" Spike asked himself, wondering if it would be safe to knock upon Buffys door when she had someone visiting. He grinned at his own thoughts. "She's expecting me. I wouldn't want to disappoint." He chuckled and proceeded to the front door of the Summers home. He ground out the butt of his cigarette under his boot and knocked twice. A few minutes passed and the door opened to reveal Dawn.  
"What do you want?" Dawn asked, obviously trying to sound brave and failing.  
Spike let his demon face come forward for a brief moment, chuckling under his breath when Dawn jumped, afraid. "I don't want you, bite-size." He said to her, still grinning. "Where's the Slayer?"  
"Buffy?" Dawned squeaked. "She's asleep. Having a nap before patrol."  
"Dawn?" Giles asked as he came into view from the kitchen. "Who is it?"  
"Um..." Dawn stepped back from the door, revealing Spike.  
Giles sighed. "What do you want?"  
"To see the Slayer." Spike rolled his eyes and gestured to Dawn. "I already asked the li'l one."  
"Go away, Spike. Buffy doesn't need any more complications tonight." Giles said and shut the door in Spikes face.  
"Pillock." Spike muttered, walking down the street a few houses before doubling back through the yards of Buffys neighbors. Once outside the Slayers house again, he peered up at her bedroom window. The lights were off and the room was silent. "But I'm already invited." Spike grinned, climbing the tree and sliding open the window to slip quietly into Buffy's bedroom.  
A quick check on her alarm showed that she was going to sleep for another ten minutes. Spike turned the alarm off, knowing that Giles and Dawn wouldn't disturb the Slayer until the time was up. He was about to wake Buffy when his eyes fell upon a little book resting on her dresser.  
"What have we here?" Spike thought as he picked up Buffy's diary. He picked the flimsy lock easily enough and flipped the book to the latest entry.  
  
Dear Diary,  
I found out today that Riley's a ghoul. That means he's....  
  
Spike knew all that. He scanned through the entry until he came to the part where he had left Buffy. Her reactions to his leaving and his returning were extreme. He needed to know why.  
  
...After his being such a friend to me, he left! He blew me off and left me alone. It hurt so much. I mean, I have small feelings for him (wrong, I know.) and just when I thought we were getting somewhere, he left me. I cried on his shoulder, I trusted him. Of course, I really should've learned my lesson. The second I care for them they leave me. Why do I always fall in love with men who won't love me back? Am I such a masochist?  
But then he came back. I don't know how long he was gone. Long enough for me to break my mirror and smash those silly trinkets Riley had given me. I really went insane for a moment; I can't remember much of it. But then Spike came back. He held me and told me he wouldn't leave. I don't believe him. But I'm a trusting fool, and fell asleep in his embrace. It felt so wonderful and I feel so guilty. Aren't I supposed to be nursing the heartache Riley gave me? But no, I'm falling asleep in the arms of my   
best-enemy and enjoying it way too much.  
Spike woke me up before sunrise. He told me that he had to go. It hurt so much that he was leaving, I didn't even think of why. He had to point out that the sun was almost up. I felt so stupid.  
He promised to come back tomorrow. I don't believe him. I hope he doesn't come back. I don't know what he wants from me. I'm scared that I'll give it to him, whatever it is. They always want something, that's why they stay. Once they have it, or once I can't give it to them, they leave. That's how it works. I'm sure that's in the handbook too. I really have to get myself a copy of that. Maybe it could save me some pain.  
  
"Bloody hell." Spike muttered, replacing the lock and putting Buffy's diary back on her dresser. "She certainly comes with baggage." He thought, gently sitting down on the bed beside her sleeping form. A glance at the clock told him that his ten minutes were almost up.  
He watched Buffy sleep, for a moment. Marveling at how small and innocent she looked at rest.  
"Wake up, luv." Spike whispered, gently stroking Buffy's cheek. She smiled and curled into his touch but did not wake.  
"Slayer," He whispered, slightly louder. "Wake up."  
"No." Buffy mumbled, her body curling around Spikes. "Comfy."  
"Slayer," Spike ground out, trying to force himself to not respond to the sexy little body that had curled itself around his. "If you do not wake up this instant, I shall wake you up in the most interesting way I know how."  
"Promise?" Buffy giggled, opening her eyes.  
"Yes." Spike grinned at her, "Now, are you awake?"  
"Yup." Buffy answered, still burrowed under the covers of her bed. She looked up at Spike, smiling. "You really did come back." She observed, amazement in her voice.  
"That I did." Spike removed his hand from Buffy's face and stood. "Now, any moment Dawn and Rupert are going to break down the door. You're supposed to be getting ready to patrol."  
"Argh." Buffy whined, still not getting out of bed. "I don't wanna."  
Spike walked to the window, smiling at Buffy's antics. "But you do want to. I'll wait for you, ok?" Buffy nodded, still not moving from the bed while Spike climbed out the window.  
"Slayer?" His voice floated in the window a few moments later "If you don't get up, I'm going to come see what you're hiding under the covers."  
Buffy blushed furiously, and got out of bed, holding a blanket from the bed around her. She left the window open, but closed the blinds. Dropping the blanket, Buffy hastily threw on a robe, still blushing. She hadn't thought that Spike would return, otherwise she would've put some clothes on before she fell into bed that afternoon.  
"He came back." She spoke to herself softly, an unbelieving smile upon her face. A knock sounded softly on her bedroom door. Buffy ran to the door and opened it, revealing Giles, his hand descending to knock again.  
"I'm up." She said, in response to Giles unanswered question.  
"Oh...G-Good." Giles stuttered. "Dawn and I will be leaving now. Tara and Willow will be meeting us at my flat. Will you report in after patrol?"  
"Sure thing." Buffy answered. "Thanks for taking Dawn tonight, Giles. I know Riley could get into any home he wanted.... but I have a suspicion that he would come here first. Dawn needs to be protected."  
"N-Not a problem, Buffy. Um...Have a good patrol." Giles gave Buffy his best fatherly smile before heading downstairs to collect Dawn and leave.  
Buffy flicked on her stereo, turning up the volume. She grabbed some things from her room and went to the bathroom to shower, forgetting about Spike and her open window. A short time later, Buffy walked back into her room, her hair dripping down her shoulders and into the towel, which was her only clothing. Her stereo poured out the heavy sounds of rock music.  
  
I'm walking this railings edge  
Just to feel this good.  
And freaky be beautiful  
You came following me.  
Like I knew you would.  
  
Buffy nodded her head in time to the music, putting her shower things down. She half danced to her closet, opening the doors to peruse her extensive wardrobe.  
  
Freaky be beautiful, He falls  
And his blood, it sprays so cold  
On my face, he feels so cold.  
  
The song wound to a close, and Buffy was still deciding on what to wear. She had already thrown her new blood-red bootleg pants onto her bed and was digging through her closet for a shirt. A loud wolf-whistle made her jump in surprise, as she spun around the towel she was wearing nearly came undone. She clutched at it, blushing red enough to match her pants.  
"Spike!" Buffy exclaimed, half surprised to see the bleached vampire casually leaning against the window frame. "Don't you have any decency?"  
"No." Spike answered, a gleam in his eye.  
"Well...." Buffy sputtered, not knowing how to reply to that.  
"Well, what?" Spike asked, grinning mischievously. "You're the one taking bloody forever to get dressed. Hurry up!"  
Buffy stood, waiting for Spike to leave so she could get ready. He didn't. "Aren't you going to go?" She asked, tapping her foot impatiently.  
"No." Spike answered, still smiling. "I said I wouldn't leave. You need to be reassured that I won't."  
"Argh!" Buffy exclaimed and grabbed a flimsy black blouse from her closet before collecting her pants and underclothes. She stalked off to the washroom and change to the sound of Spikes laughter.  
Some time later, Buffy and Spike were walking down her street. He was still chuckling over the incident in her bedroom. Buffy tried to ignore him, but her blush gave her away.  
"So, what are we hunting tonight?" Spike asked, tiring of teasing the Slayer.  
"Riley." Buffy answered quietly.  
"Why?" Spike was confused; he thought that Buffy had given G.I. Joe a break.  
"Giles says that I have to kill him." Buffy answered, her voice tinged with sorrow. "Kinda like killing a lame animal. Puts them out of their misery. 'Sides that, if I don't he'll be hunted and tortured by anything evil who knows what he is."  
"Um, Slayer?" Spike asked, stopping and forcing Buffy to turn and look at him.  
"What, Spike?" Buffy asked, concerned at the strange tone in Spike's voice.  
"It's a long story, but I know where Riley is."  
"What? How?!" Buffy questioned, wondering how Spike could possibly know what had happened to Riley after the events of last night.  
"Well...Harm' found him," Spike began, and told Buffy the entire story.  
"So, he's chained up in a dingy room in the back of your crypt." Buffy stated flatly once Spike had finished.  
"Yeah. I couldn't stand to give him any blood, so he's in pretty bad shape." Spike explained, as he and Buffy began walking in the direction of his crypt.  
"Why didn't you tell me before?" Buffy asked, a little hurt that Spike would have hidden this from her.  
"'Cause I was gonna let him go tonight." Spike avoided looking Buffy in the eye. He was really intending on killing Riley, come sunrise. "I thought that you gave him a break. I was gonna send his bloody ass out of Sunnyhell as fast as I could."  
"Oh." Buffy smiled and suddenly slipped her hand into Spike's as they walked. He missed a step, tripping slightly.  
"What are you...?" He asked before Buffy hushed him, and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked.  
"We're just a regular couple, you and I." Buffy whispered "Walking to the park on a date. There isn't something big and yucky following us. Everything is sweet and romantic." She grinned, and slipped Spike a stake. She giggled suddenly and playfully swatted him before letting go of his hand and taking off towards a nearby park at a light jog. "Am I right?" She called back to him.  
"I wish you were." Spike muttered under his breath before taking off and following Buffy. He wondered what was following them, but knew better than to look back.  
  



	7. Loosing The Third Wheel

Chapter Seven: Loosing The Third Wheel  
  
Notes: I'd like to state, for the record, that I never hated Riley. A few revues I've received seem to think that I wrote this all for the benefit of doing evil to good old G.I. Joe. I didn't, really. I wrote this as my own personal version of ITW (and preceding events) and for my own personal demons. I've nothing against Riley.  
  
  
"Ew!" Buffy exclaimed to no one in particular, wiping a large amount of black goo from her arm. "I mean, I'm thankful for no messy corpse to clean up, but did it have to explode?"  
Spike laughed, wiping the goo from his jacket. "Of course it did, luv. Gelatinous demons tend to do that."  
"Gelatinous?" Buffy exclaimed, "The thing was a S'more gone wrong!"  
They continued to wipe off large amounts of the oily black goo from themselves in silence. Once he was relatively clean, Spike leaned against a nearby bench and watched Buffy wipe the goo from her body. As sick as it was, he enjoyed watching her rub at herself.  
"Well?" Buffy's voice broke the hormone driven turn of his thoughts. "Are we still going to take care of Riley?"  
"Bloody right!" Spike replied, pushing himself off the tree and beginning to walk once more in the direction of the crypt he called home. "I'm not about to have him in my home any longer than absolutely necessary.  
Buffy joined Spike and they walked in silence towards Spike's crypt and the Ghoul housed within.  
"Um, Spike?" Buffy asked some time later, concern in her voice, as the crypt came into view. "How do you kill a ghoul?"  
"Er...About the same way you'd kill a human." Spike replied, watching Buffy's face fall. "He's not human anymore, luv." He quickly tried to re-assure her. "It's ok to kill him."  
"I know..." Buffy sighed. "It's just...he still looks the same. He still has all his memories. He still..." A sob choked off whatever she was going to say. Buffy leaned against the crypt door and cried softly.  
"I guess this is kinda like Angelus." Spike said, stating the obvious.  
"Yeah."  
"Here, why don't I go drain him?" Spike offered. "You stay out here, and in a moment I'll be back with a corpse to dispose of. I'll even mutilate him a bit so he doesn't look like good ol' Captain Cardboard."  
A giggle erupted from Buffy, stopping her tears. "That's got to be...the sickest.... and yet sweetest thing...." she dissolved into near-hysterical laughter.  
Spike frowned. "What? It's a good plan."  
"Yeah...okay then...you do that." Buffy gasped out, trying to calm her laughter.  
"Right." Spike said, opening the door to his crypt. "I will then."  
Spike strode into the crypt, ignoring the soft sounds of Buffy's laughter behind him. He strolled around the corner to the room that Riley was housed and cursed softly. The chains hanging from the ceiling how hung limp, the whip that Harmony used to torture the ghoul was missing. As was the soon-to-be corpse of Riley Finn.  
"Bloody fucking hell!" He cursed, much more loudly this time, when no trace of Riley or whomever freed him could be found in the small room.  
"Spike?" Buffy's voice floated in from the crypt entrance. "Is something wrong?"  
"Yes!" Spike called back, glaring at the empty chains hanging from the stone ceiling as though they held all the answers to his current problem.  
"I'm coming in - eeeeeek!" Buffy's words were cut off in a scream. Spike tried to run out of the crypt to help her but was suddenly tackled by four large, burly vampires whom had been hiding in an adjoining room of the crypt. They picked Spike up off the floor, dragging him outside. Once outside, Spike quickly took in the bizarre scene before him. Buffy was being forcefully held down on her knees by another quartet of overly large, muscular vamps. Spike was brought to his knees by his own personal entourage, a fair distance from Buffy. They were half facing each other, and half facing an empty stone bench. Childlike laughter hovered in the air as the leader of this small group of vamps stepped out from the darkness and sat with a ladylike demeanor upon the stone bench.  
"Dru," Spike choked out, before being backhanded heavily by one of his captors.  
"My Spike," Drusilla cooed, fiddling with the doll sitting in her lap. "Miss Edith said you would be here. She said to come to you and we would have a party."  
Buffy took that moment to struggle uselessly against her captors. A vamp with a seemingly permanent broken nose grabbed her by the neck, half choking her as the others continued to pin her to the ground.  
"Slayer." Dru said, her voice filled with hate. "I shall have your blood soon enough. And then My Spike and I shall have a tea party. Miss Edith would like that very much... as would my new pet."  
"Dru, don't." Spike ground out, forcing himself to accept another blow for talking.  
"Why, Spike?" She asked him, making a strange gesture above her head. "Miss Edith spoke to me weeks ago. Telling me how your thoughts were filled with the Slayer. How you dream of her. That isn't right, Spike. You are mine. You belong with your princess."  
A figure emerged from the same shadows Drusilla had used. He swiftly sat at Dru's feet, obediently smiling up at her in full demon-face.  
"God, no." Buffy gasped belatedly. Her head was swimming from lack of oxygen. The new vampire frowned at the one half-strangling Buffy. He dropped his grip on her neck and simply helped his three other companions hold the Slayer down. Buffy sucked in air, and simply stared at the newcomer.  
"Do you like my new pet, My Spike?" Drusilla asked, absently petting the head of her newest childe. "I found him when I came to look for you. Miss Edith told me such delicious things about him. There was a poor demon inside, waiting to get out. I let his demon out, Spike." Dru clapped her hands, pleased with herself.  
"Bloody hell Dru, don't you know he was a ghoul?" Spike asked. "They don't lose the addiction when they're turned. He'd just as soon eat you as a human!"  
"I set him free, Spike." Drusilla replied, not really understanding what Spike was talking about. She gave Riley a little shove, in the direction of Buffy. He slowly stood, shaking off his game-face and walked towards the prone Slayer.  
"He loves her." Dru whispered to Spike. "He'll turn the Slayer and help us to fix you. Then the fun shall truly begin."  
"No." Spike ground out, watching Riley move slowly towards Buffy. She whimpered as he came closer, looking up at him with eyes wide and terror-filled.  
"Stand." Riley commanded the four vampires holding Buffy to the ground. Two let go of her to allow the others to force her to her feet. Buffy glanced at Spike for a brief moment.  
"Be ready." Spike practically heard Buffy's voice in his head, so obvious was the message in her eyes. He nodded a fraction.  
"Buffy." Riley said reverently, reaching out to gently stroke her cheek. "We can be together now."  
"Why?" Buffy asked, her voice choked with tears. "Why couldn't we be together before?" She grunted as Riley sucker-punched her in the gut.  
"Because, you didn't love me." He said, accenting his words with a full-armed slap, reminiscent of the one Buffy had given him the night before. "I was human, I was normal. I had to be something special to attract your eye again. I had to be what you wanted. And now I am."  
"You did this..." Buffy spoke around gasps for air. "Because you love me?"  
"Of course I did!" Riley exclaimed, motioning for the remaining to guards to let Buffy go completely. She sank to the ground, limp. Riley knelt beside her, stroking her hair. "I love you so much, and you didn't see it. You didn't see me. But now you do. Now I'm what you want. Now you can love me and we can be together forever." He babbled as though trying to convince someone.  
"Riley," Buffy looked up at Riley, and deep emotion shone in her eyes. "I love you." she reached out to hold him. With a small cry of joy, the newly sired Riley crushed Buffy to his chest.  
"See baby," Riley muttered into Buffy's hair, "I'm what you want now. I'm what you can love. I can be with you and we'll be so happy. So very happy."  
"But you're not Riley." Buffy whispered, completing her thought. She shoved the small stake that had been hidden up her sleeve into his heart. He gasped with pain, letting Buffy go. "You're a heartless demon." She explained as Riley exploded in a cloud of dust.  
  



	8. Last Battles

Chapter Eight: Last Battles  
  
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. Not the characters, nor the truly-appropriate Black Sabbath song I used.  
  
  
Riley crumbed to ash in front of her. She watched, and felt nothing. He had truly perverted himself above all humanity...and he had done it for her. She felt no guilt; she didn't suffer. Riley's love was smothering and obsessive. He would've done such things for any girl he thought himself to be in love with. Riley's version of love was a cancer that polluted his soul.  
Still on the ground, Buffy dropped her smaller stake and reached into her boots, drawing a considerably larger stake from one and a wicked, silver dagger from the other. She stood, turning to face the four hefty vampires who had first tackled her from behind.  
"Time to play?" She asked them, an innocent smile upon her face.  
Drusilla wailed a banshee's cry from the stone bench. "My pet!" She cried, upset at the loss of a fledgling that had been almost as crazed as she. This spurred the four vampires to action. As before, they rushed her in a football style tackle, Buffy dodged in the only direction she could, into Spike's crypt. She bounced off the floor and hit his stereo. Springing to her feet, as the stereo made a small shuffling sound and began to play, Buffy ran to the front entrance and assumed a fighting stance, waiting for her opponents to come to her.  
  
Some people say my love cannot be true  
Please believe me, my love, and I'll show you  
I'll give you all those things you thought unreal  
The sun, the moon, the stars all bear my seal  
  
She used the stone doorway to prevent the massive vampires from reaching her en mass. The first of the large vamps to reach her was the one with the broken nose who had choked her earlier. He threw a sluggish punch at her, obviously relying on his greater size in the battle. Buffy parried his blow with her dagger, neatly slicing his hand off at the wrist. Blood spurted out of the wound, spraying Buffy as she silently thanked Willow for blessing her weapon. The vampire grasped his wound, leaving himself open to any attack. He crumbled to dust as two more Vampires tried to wedge themselves into the small doorway. Buffy attacked, two handed. A stake found the heart of one vamp and her dagger slit the throat of the other. The tackle of the fourth vampire threw Buffy back into the crypt, a member of a grotesque sandwich. The vamp whose neck was slit lay on top of her, thrashing harmlessly as his blood poured over Buffy's head. The fourth vamp lay across them, struggling to get up. Buffy swiftly brought her stake to bear on the bleeding vampire above her. He crumbled to ash, causing number four to fall, heart first, upon her stake.  
  
Follow me now and you will not regret  
Living the life you led before we met  
You are the first to have this love of mine  
Forever with me 'till the end of time  
  
Buffy stood, wiping blood from her face with the back of her hand and strode out into the cemetery to finish the battle. She froze at the sight before her. The four vampires who had been holding Spike down were now standing protectively in front of the bench where Drusilla now stood with Spike cradled in her embrace.  
"The Slayer is not dead." Drusilla pouted when Buffy emerged from the crypt. She clutched Spike to her and stroked his hair protectively. "My Spike, would you kill her for me?"  
"You know I can't, pet." Spike replied, his face turned away from Buffy as he cleaved into Dru's embrace.  
"But would you?"  
Buffy swallowed painfully, awaiting Spike's answer. He had always loved Drusilla, no matter how she cheated or lied. She knew that she and Spike wouldn't have...whatever they had.... were it not for the chip the Initiative had placed in his head. Spike would've killed her and returned to the embrace of his Black Goddess. Or she would've won their battles and he would be a mote of dust floating in the air. She waited to hear his answer, gripping her weapons in blood soaked hands.  
  
Your love for me has just got to be real,  
Before you know the way I'm going to feel,  
I'm going to feel,  
I'm going to feel  
  
  
"But would you kill her, My Spike? For princess?" Drusilla repeated herself as Spike's answer had been to clutch at her more tightly.  
Buffy glanced down, hiding the pain in her eyes. She knew how Spike would answer. He would kill her in an instant. He had already tried, when he first thought that his chip had been removed. She spotted the small stake she had used to kill Riley, laying next to her boot. Ironically enough, she realized, she was standing in his ashes. Buffy heard Spike take in a breath to answer his true love. She didn't want to hear it. Instead, Buffy sprang into motion. She placed her larger stake in her left hand with the dagger and swept to the ground, picking up the smaller stake from the ground and whipping it into the heart of the vampire standing closest to her in a move identical to the one she had performed the night Spike had first told her about Riley's perverse activities. The large vamp exploded in a cloud of dust, drawing Drusilla's attention.  
"Slayer..." She said, taking a few steps back and drawing Spike with her as her three remaining bodyguards closed on Buffy. "We shall enjoy watching you die. T'is a pity, My Spike cannot kill you himself..." She stroked Spike's face and smiled up at him at her words. "But there will be other Slayers."   
Spike looked away from Buffy the entire time Drusilla talked. He would not meet her eyes as he clutched at his Dark Goddess. "Kill her." Dru whispered to the three remaining bodyguards.  
Buffy laughed outright as the three converged on her. She felt the adrenaline sing through her veins and knew that tonight was not the night this Slayer fell. She plucked her larger stake from her left hand, holding her two weapons at ready. The three vampires looked at Buffy askance. "Well?" She asked, a confident grin upon her face. "The 'ho said kill me. So try. I dare you." With blood-curdling battle cries, the vampires charged at her, again football style. Buffy knew they expected her to dodge, as she had done before. Instead, she ran at the vampire in the middle of the charge, grasping his shoulders before he could grab her and expertly flipping over his head. She twisted in the air, landing that she might keep an eye on her three assailants and another one on Drusilla. The three massive Vampires gave up on the charge and tackle strategy; instead two circled her, cautiously.  
"You know.... even if she turned a whole football team" Buffy spoke to the only Vamp who had stayed in her vision. "That move will never work. You should give it up. I'm a Slayer, not a Quarterback." Buffy grinned at the obvious discomfort of the Vampire, letting her senses tell her exactly where the Vampires were instead of trying to keep her eye on all of them. Once the Vampires had adequately spread out, Buffy sensed a change in their demeanor. Anticipating their attack, she charged at the only Vampire she could see, diving into a roll beneath his legs before his clumsy swipe could grab her. She sprang to her feet, just as the Vampire was turning around. His arms came up too high, leaving his stomach exposed. Buffy swiftly brought her dagger to bear, eviscerating the Vampire before he knew what had hit him. He swiftly brought his arms to his stomach, trying to prevent his bowels from spilling onto the ground. Buffy slammed her stake into his heart just as the final two Vampires came at her from both sides. Buffy dove to the ground, rolling beneath the flashing fists of the Vampires. She came up, in a battle stance, unaware of how close she was standing to Drusilla.  
  
*****  
  
The Vampiress hadn't made a sound during the fight. She had clutched Spike to her chest as though he were one of her dolls and watched the battle in rapt silence. Spike, meanwhile, had turned his head on Dru's shoulders that he might watch his Slayer in action. The battle had begun on Drusilla's side with both Spike and Buffy at her mercy. However, the ever-resourceful Buffy had managed to turn the tables yet again.  
"Pet," Spike whispered in Drusilla's ear as Buffy launched herself over the charging Vampires. "This is our cue to go."  
Drusilla patted him absently on the head. "The Slayer will die." She told Spike, and didn't move.  
"Dru," Spike breathed lovingly, as he used too. "You know she won't. We'll get her, you and I. But not tonight."  
Drusilla's petting hand became a crushing grip on the back of his neck. "The Slayer will die." She replied, forcing Spike to turn his head and cradle deeper into her embrace. He didn't resist her. "Let Princess take care of everything, My Spike. And we shall be happy again."  
  
*****  
  
Buffy was finished dancing. She grinned at her two opponents, whom she had fought to a standstill. "Bye, boys." She purred seductively, before lashing out with her stake and knife. One Vamp exploded into dust, while another fell to the ground, clutching the area where his manhood used to reside.   
Buffy swiftly put him out of his misery.  
"See, Spike?" Drusilla said, shoving Spike away from her as Buffy crouched to stake the last Vampire, her back to the couple. "The Slayer will die." She silently advanced upon Buffy, drawing her hands up that her blood-red nails became sharp claws.  
  
*****  
  
Buffy heard Drusilla's whispered words to Spike, but did not turn around. She feigned ignorance, standing slowly from the ashes of her last opponent. Sensing how near Drusilla was to her, Buffy spun around in a kick, knocking Dru to the side. She blocked the insane Vampiress' return blow, lashing out with her dagger to slice a small cut down her cheek. The Vampiress screamed louder than was necessary for such a small wound and backed up hastily.  
"Spike." Buffy called out, watching Drusilla warily as she backed into Spike's protective embrace. Spike's head shot up, finally making eye contact with Buffy. "I owe you."  
"Owe me for what, Slayer?" Spike forced out, his throat suddenly dry. Drusilla was clutching at him, sobbing that her face hurt. He absently stroked her back, watching Buffy all the while.  
Buffy shrugged, forcing a smile to her face. "For everything." She replied, letting the pain of the night wash through her. She was surprised how much it hurt her to see Spike holding Dru so possessively.  
"Slayer, I..." Spike was at a loss for words. His actions with Drusilla was pure habit. He had taken care of her for so much longer than he had loved her. Dru would always need him. How could he let her know that he no longer cared? How could he tell Buffy that he did care?  
"See ya, Spike." Buffy began to back out of the cemetary. "You know the deal. We've done it before."  
Spike looked down at Drusilla, wondering how he could leave her. He had never left her; she needed him. He had loved her. A soft sound caused him to look up. Buffy was gone.  
Drusilla abruptly stopped crying and cocked her head to the side as though considering something. "You love her." She stated in a brief moment of clarity.  
"Yeah, ducks, I do." Spike sighed, letting go of his Princess and stepping back.  
"Then be with her."  
Spike blinked, shocked. "Are you sure, pet?"  
Drusilla smiled. "Yes. I love My Angel and you let me be with him when he came to visit. T'is only fair, My Spike. You love her."  
Spike shook his head in amazement. Here, Drusilla had come to take him away from the Slayer and now she was encouraging to be with her! "You always ran hot 'n' cold." Spike muttered.   
Drusilla clapped her hands, "Am I still your princess?" She asked, a hopeful tone in her voice.  
"Yes, pet." Spike grinned, and gently stroked her cheek just below the cut that Buffy had given her. "Always."  
"Good." Drusilla nodded, backing away from Spike. In a flash of skirt, she was gone as well and Spike stood alone in the cemetery with his thoughts.  



End file.
